Chapter 255: Fourth Round
A while later, the martial platform was repaired and Lin Qian flew onto the stage.
"The fourth round of the competition will be a little different from before." She said and the crowd went silent.
With fewer participants, the competition had become more intense and everyone was looking forward to the next round.
They were especially interested in the dark horse that had suddenly appeared.
Although Yu Nianzhen was a disciple of the Sea Cloud sect, it didn’t stop others from looking forward to his fights.
"The remaining ten, please come onto the stage."
When they heard that, Yu Nianzhen and the others did not hesitate.
They immediately flew onto the stage and stood in front of Lin Qian.
"Please pick a stick from this pot." She said and once again removed the lottery pot.
In the blink of an eye, each of the ten participants held a bamboo stick in their hands.
The stick was as before and it had a number at the bottom.
"Number one will challenge number ten, number two will challenge number 9, and so on." Lin Qian started.
"After the first round, the order will shift one down. Number two will challenge number one, number three will challenge number ten, and so on."
"The competition will continue until everyone has fought everyone else. However, five losses will result in immediate elimination. Only the top five can move to the next round."
The audience boiled when they heard that.
Everyone liked this kind of one-on-one competition.
Most importantly, all the participants would fight each other. This meant that the results would not be ambiguous at all.
"This is the kind of thing I like." A spectator said happily.
"Who do you think will win?" Someone asked.
"Xuan Dong will win."
"I also think so. The purity of his flames is unprecedently high. His flames may not be inferior to phoenix fire."
"I disagree. I think Lou Ping will win."
Someone snorted when he heard that. However, Lou Ping’s fan did not give up and tried to explain.
"Listen to me..." He said urgently and then continued.
"Lou Ping has used only one puppet from the beginning to now."
"So what?"
"At the origin tempering realm, he can control at least five puppets of the same level. Who can defeat five origin-tempering realm puppets at the same time?"
"Isn’t there a Yu Nianzhen who can defeat everyone with one move?" Someone sneered.
"I have been thinking about it and that sword rain does not look easy. After he used it, he looked pale and didn’t have any qi left."
"I also saw that. If he uses that sword rain, he will definitely be defeated in the following game."
"Xuan Dong, Lou Ping, and Yu Nianzhen are good but have you forgotten someone?"
"Are you talking about Yin Jun?" Someone asked and frowned.
Yin Jun was a mysterious cultivator from a small clan in the poison valley.
He won the first platform in the first round and hadn’t lost until now.
His methods were horrifying and left people feeling a little uncomfortable.
"That’s him. When it comes to ruthlessness, he is more ruthless than Yu Nianzhen." Someone said and sighed.
From the first round to now, most of Yin Jun’s opponents had perished.
Even those that didn’t die were severely poisoned and their life and death were uncertain.
"Anyway, it doesn’t matter who wins. I have already lost my pot." Someone said sullenly and the surroundings became gloomy.
"Don’t talk about you. I only have the clothes on my body."
"You were too courageous."
"Who bet on those on stage?"
The people looked at each other but no one spoke out.
Most of them had bet on the popular choices including the masters behind Mo Tianxing, Gu Meng, and Zhu Zheng.
However, if there were people who bet on Yang Xu and others, they didn’t dare to speak out.
This was because they were worried about being robbed if they somehow won the bet and collected a large number of spirit stones.
"Since it has come to this, I can only accept this loss." Someone sighed and then turned to the stage.
At this time, the participants had already sorted out their numbers.
Unlike the previous two times, Yu Nianzhen did not take number ten in this round.
Instead, he picked number two and would challenge number nine.
After knowing the order, the extras left the platform and the first fight began.
"Azhen, number nine is Yin Jun." Jiang Yue stated the obvious as soon as Yu Nianzhen returned.
When he heard that, Yu Nianzhen sighed.
He didn’t discriminate against poison refiners but this kind of opponent was too troublesome.
"Brother Yu, you have to be very careful." Xuan Ke said and frowned.
He had watched Yin Jun’s fights and all of them were tragic.
"Do you have enough detoxification pills?" He continued and removed a few pill bottles from his storage ring.
Without waiting for Yu Nianzhen to say anything, Jiang Yue took the pill bottles and quickly checked them.
After a while, he returned all except one.
"We don’t have this one." He said and handed the bottle to Yu Nianzhen.
"Brother Xuan, we don’t want to take advantage of you. I will exchange your pill with something else."
"What are you talking about? We are brothers." Xuan Ke said dismissively.
However, Jiang Yue really didn’t want to take advantage of Xuan Ke.
Although they were close, it was not good to take their relationship for granted.
If they did this, the relationship would surely be worn down and the loss would outweigh the gain.
"But..."
"Let’s not dwell on it for the time being. Brother Yu, do you have a plan?"
Yu Nianzhen’s plan was simple.
He planned to end the match as soon as possible.
This was the only way to ensure he wasn’t poisoned mysteriously.
"Azhen, you should paste a few isolation talismans on your body." Jiang Yue suggested.
Although an isolation talisman could not keep out all the poison, it was better than nothing.
"Talismans are forbidden." Yu Nianzhen reminded and Jiang Yue frowned.
In his worry, he forgot that talismans and formations could not be used in the martial contest.
"This is a little dangerous." He said.
"Don’t worry, I will take my life seriously."
After that, the three discussed countermeasures.
Although Yu Nianzhen wanted to end the match early, there was no guarantee that his opponent would let him.
In that case, it was best to plan for any outcomes.
When the three were barely satisfied with their planning, the first match ended.
The first match was between Xuan Dong and a cultivator from the BlueStar Treasure Pavilion.
As expected, Xuan Dong won easily and his opponent was almost burned to a crisp.
Fortunately, his injuries were not as bad as they looked.
With a few rejuvenation pills and meditation, he would be able to participate in the next round.
After the first round, there was a short break before the bell rang for the second round.
"Azhen..." Jiang Yue started and then sighed.
He didn’t want Yu Nianzhen to get hurt but he couldn’t ask him to surrender.
’What a dilemma.’ He thought but his heart was calm.
In the end, Yu Nianzhen was meant to soar into the heavens.
Jiang Yue couldn’t hinder his flight so he could only accompany him to fly together.
"Azhen, come back soon." He said.
Yu Nianzhen looked at his beloved and chuckled.
He could feel Jiang Yue’s worry but also his trust in him.
"I will be back soon." He assured.
"Brother Yu, take care of yourself."
"Help me take care of XiaoYue." Yu Nianzhen said in reply.
Without waiting for Xuan Ke to agree, he flew up and occupied one side of the martial platform.
"Do you want to concede or won’t you cry until you see the coffin?" Yin Jun said as soon as he stepped on the stage.
His voice was pleasant, and he sounded as if he was talking about the weather.
This indifference made him more horrifying, but Yu Nianzhen was not frightened.
Cultivation was going against the sky.
Although he didn’t like fighting this kind of opponent, he couldn’t pick and choose his opponents.
Since Yin Jun was blocking his path, Yu Nianzhen would take the opportunity to experience.
Only by fighting different kinds of opponents would he sharpen his dao heart.
In the end, Yin Jun was just another chance.
After Yu Nianzhen figured it out, his heart lightened, and his mood improved.
All of a sudden, his momentum increased, and his cultivation rose to the peak of the first level of the origin tempering realm.
Unfortunately, the origin tempering realm was different from other cultivation realms.
Without refining a treasure, his cultivation couldn’t break through to the second level.
However, Yu Nianzhen wasn’t in a hurry.
This time, his biggest gain wasn’t the increase in his cultivation base but the improvement of his mood.
